Sunday, December 31, 2006

Take it to the Limitless One More Time

Once again I didn't intend to post. This may be a short one, unless I am unexpectedly seized by something from above... or beneath... or behind... or within... or yonder. Which, as a matter of fact, is the subject of the post: the essential limitlessness of the soul vs. the limits we place on it. These limits are not always the fault of the limitee. Some people are just not intellectually, or spiritually, or aesthetically, or linguistically gifted, so their minds will only take them so far. Their mental horizons are only so wide and not a millimeter wider. Nevertheless, almost everyone has some "point of entry" to the eternal, whether it is through music, or parenting, or a craft, something which either "dissolves" the ego or allows it to break through and connect with the wider world.

To briefly return to yesterday's post, I spoke of how scripture and revelation can be thought of as a reflection of the eternal within time. The genius of scripture -- something which no human could have accomplished, at least without divine assistance -- is that it speaks to men of all gifts and capacities, at whatever level. The other day, Petey made a cheap shot at one of those vacuous TV preachers, but don't get me, I mean Petey, wrong. Religion must meet a man where he is. It would be as absurd for me to appear on TBN as it would be for Joel Osteen to be the keynote speaker at the annual Raccoon Lodge convention.

But someone must speak the language of eternity in terms the average man can grasp. It's something that is actually quite critical to both the salvation of the individual and to the harmony of society, and is one of the things that makes America great -- i.e., its basic religiosity. I certainly relate to a simple person of faith much more than I do to a sophisticated yahoo such as Sam Harris or Richard Dawkins, who actually have far more soul-deadening limits than those they mock. They truly "don't get it," but are nevertheless enormously proud of their spiritual autism -- technically known as Assburger's Syndrome.

I'm getting sidetracked. This post was actually inspired by a couple of comments made by Frithjof Schuon in reference to the painful struggles of his youth. For a time he was employed in a meaningless occupation that had nothing to do with his true vocation, which he had yet to discover. In dealing with a typical coworker, he had the sense that the coworker was "hemmed in by all the objects and mental images that surround him. I feel that these people adhere flatly to their mental images with all their soul, without any freedom of movement and without any possibility of taking up an objective attitude towards them."

He also observed that "When I speak with people I have the feeling that I can perceive their limitations physically; I see their limits almost tangibly before me and feel oppressed by the awareness that there is no entry and no key to their darkness, and that for them there is no exit, that with dull eyes like fish they bump against the glass walls of their mental horizon.

Now, one thing you must immediately bear in mind is that neither of these comments were intended to convey contempt. Far from it. Rather, they were expressions of a familiar kind of pain that apparently has no name, and which I myself had never adequately articulated until reading these passages. A decent person will not automatically blame the world for the fact that he doesn't fit into it. Rather, in the absence of some kind of emotional support from like-minded people, he will naturally blame himself: the world is right. There's just something wrong with me. I am a misfit. I need to change myself so that I can be like the others. But this is no solution. Rather, it will simply exchange one kind of existential pain for another. A lion can try to fit in with the other sheep by eating grass all day, but that is far from the ideal solution. But what can you do if you've never even met another lion?

The human world is an interpersonal world. It is a tapestry of humanness that comes at us from every possible angle, high and low. Each of us must find our place within this tapestry, but it is much easier for some than for others. An "average" person apparently feels "at home" in the world, for the simple reason that the world was made for him. But if you are far from average, the world is going to literally be an alien place. It is going to be much more painful -- even bizarre. To take a mundane example, the world was made for righthanded people. If you are lefthanded, you are going to have to deal with all kinds of trivial inconveniences for the simple reason that the world literally wasn't made for you. In the not too distant past, parents would even force lefthanded children to be righthanded, which would cause real damage, similar to "enlightened" parents who try to raise their children without a strong sexual identification.

The world was also made for heterosexuals. If you are homosexual, we can only say tough luck. We are not going to overturn the order of the cosmos just so you can feel more comfortable in it. This is such a narcissistic demand. Yes, the homosexual is "different," but not nearly as different as I or my fellow Raccoons are. And yet, we do not expect the world to conform to our needs. I don't expect that a certain percentage of television characters must be Bobbleheads, or that special accommodations should be made for us, or that ballots must be designed so that we can understand them, or that closed-captioning be furnished so that we can understand what the hell is going on on TV.

No, it is enough that we have found each other: a little community of the limitless. Back to Schuon's comment above: When I speak with people I have the feeling that I can perceive their limitations physically; I see their limits almost tangibly before me and feel oppressed by the awareness that there is no entry and no key to their darkness, and that for them there is no exit. I am eager to know how many readers have also felt this, for I certainly do. In dealing with someone, there is a sort of instantaneous -- and oppressive -- intuition of the exact limits of their horizons. Interestingly, it has nothing to do with education. More often than not, the highly educated person has simply internalized an officially sanctioned set of limits, beyond which their minds cannot venture. They are hemmed in by their education, not liberated by it. Imagine the frustration of dealing with the typical New York Times reader or NPR listener -- just incredibly narrow limits masquerading as sophistication.

This also has nothing to do with basic intelligence. Many intelligent people have drifted in and out of this site who have no idea what I'm talking about. People routinely leave comments that make it clear that they not only do not understand my post, but even the point of the blog. Often they will take something I wrote and merely fit it into their existing framework -- in other words, they place me within their own limits.

Let's take an obviously intelligent person, say, Christopher Hitchens. He is a good example, because he is clearly gifted in a sense, and yet, the iron bars within his soul are truly tangible. His gift has ended up sharply limiting his horizons, probably because it also happens to be in the service of a fair amount of narcissism. I would no more get into a debate with him about religion than I would debate my dog, because in both cases I would lose.

One of the persistent misunderstandings of my critics is that the people who agree with me are "followers" -- or that I could even have such a thing. Obviously, the "Bobblehead" designation is always used both ironically and affectionately, for the people who most agree with me are the ones who are probably the most fiercely independent, and who have spent their lives winning their personal insights from the formless infinite void in a world that was either indifferent or even hostile to them.

I met one of our regular readers several months before I started this blog. We engaged in a correspondence that was intensely stimulating on many levels, and now I know why: I had found a fellow Raccoon, a person with no limits! Just as I can instantly sense someone's limits, I now realize that I could sense her freedom. No matter where I went, she could follow -- and vice versa. A particularly brilliant psychoanalyst, Christopher Bollas, refers to this as "the erotics of being," because there is such a tangible joy involved in connecting with someone on this level.

This morning I received an email. I hope he or she will not be embarrassed, because they shouldn't be. But in a perfect synchronicity, it articulates exactly what this particular post is about, and the cosmic service I wish the blog to provide. This person wrote, "The last week or so's posts have been giving me the sense that you were a couple steps ahead of where I've been wanting to [go].... [W]ith today's post I was sure with each word that you were about to completely say what I've been trying to get out and then some.... [It] really sent the neurons a-swirling. A strange thing this blogosphere, a very strange and wondrous thing -- the distance of entire continents is no obstacle for thoughts to bounce off each other and spark still other thoughts afire."

In fact, a couple of days ago, another emailer expressed it this way: "What do I see when I go to your blog? It's like traveling on a dark night, towards a bubble of light on the horizon. You know that once you are there, you can refresh yourself, rest, be edified, and continue the journey." You see? I cannot be a "leader," just a useful bloglight on the horizon of being.

Now, just as I do not have contempt for the person who does not understand me, I do not draw any kind of egoic gratification from these kinds of comments. For one thing, these people are my equals, undoubtedly gifted in certain areas I am not. The point is the same as with the correspondent alluded to above: the erotics of being, the liberating joy of finding another person to play with in hyperspace! We're not alone after all!

So if I am going to have "followers," it can only be in this sense: to help people vault themselves beyond their own limits in their own unique idiom. This is what my most esteemed teachers have done for me. I will always be their humble student but never their follower, or I will have both insulted them and learned nothing in the process. For there is none good but One; and to quote Schuon again, this One "wishes to be worshiped by every man according to the nature He gave him."

To quote the emailer - >>A strange thing this blogosphere, a very strange and wondrous thing -- the distance of entire continents are no obstacle for thoughts to bounce off each other and spark still other thoughts afire <<

I don't believe the internet is the Oneness itself, but it certainly is a "below" manifestation of the "above" - however wondrous it is, it is still a shadow of the higher dimensions in which time and space don't limit the human consciousness as they do on the material plane. Eventually, I think, we'll be able to access, via our organs of higher perception, the "higher internet" and Geek Squad will become obsolete.

What I find interesting is that this particular above/below equation has come into prominence now. What does it augur?

continuing - Some kind of universal spiritual Initiation is in the works? The internet certainly *expedites* things - if you're so inclined you can regard it as being the method by which long-standing karma is resolved relatively quickly, spiritual inclinations inspired via long-distance, etc. It's as if the internet is providing space for a last minute spiritual desk clearing.

I for one have felt hemmed in by my concepts of the world, have acutely felt the "tyranny of things" (Nisargadatta), and also the astonished realization that most (all?) of those limits are illusory. The realization does require a lot of re-arrangment of the mental furniture, though, and for me is an ongoing struggle.

Has anyone here seen the movie, The Secret? It was a bit long and redundant but had some interesting points to make. It talked about the laws of attraction and how our thinking or vibrational programming was creating our realites. The secret was to basically think positively and attract the things, people, feelings into your life. I can speak for myself when I say that I have always been searching for other people who have a slightly bent view of the cosmos. That is not meant to be insulting in any way. In fact, it is a compliment and I am glad this is the place to find others even if sometimes it takes tolerating an unknown troll (way worse than self-appointed trolls!) I'll just say it's either this blog or my magnetic matress!

Thanks for providing such a cool place to hang and gather, Bob. Makes you feel like a grape on a grapevine. Good to know there are other beautiful freaks out there too! Happy New Year Bobbleheads, may it bring us all true health and wealth and much joy!

Forgot to include that in this movie they didn't actually mention God until 1 hour or so. They kept mentioning all these patterns and commonalities and avoiding the O. It was truly bizarre but almost pathetic because you could tell the filmmakers were trying to ease it in and sneak it by all the non-believers.

Lisa, I'm of the mind that you don't have to so much "think" higher, positive thoughts in order to attract like minds, but simply *be* in a higher state of consciousness. Of course, it helps to keep imagining yourself as being of higher consciousness, but that, too, is different from "thinking". Anyway, there really is a mysterious attraction, a tropism between higher consciousnesses that cuts right through time and space.

So, give yourself a big pat on the back, my friend! You have drawn to you what you have merited by virtue of your own elevated consciousness!

Bob,For me, you focus my thoughts with your writing. You are so gifted at expressing yourself in words. I often find myself unable to comment because I can't organize my thoughts as well, but I can talk to the screen, as long as those guys in the white coats don't see me. I am a muscian, but I drive a log truck all day to make a living. So, just to have you there to read and mentally communicate with, I look forward to all day.

Every time you have mentioned Richard Dawkins over the past week, my mind has drifted to this post:

http://www.instapunk.com/

Instapunk (R.F. Laird) is one of my favorite sites and it receives far too little traffic and comment considering the effort Mr. laird puts forward. He does not post as often as others, but I admire his clarity.

I agree with your assessment, Will. The movie had some flaws and over-simplifications. You are so darn smart but you knew that. Maybe Petey will make a better one!

As far as the magnetic mattress, can we just say that sometimes things find me(not the other way around)! Not sure if it really makes any difference but I do notice that my left ear with 3 earrings is much harder to lift off the bed than the right one with 2! ;0)

Excuse me, dear Lisa, but because I was eavesdropping, I couldn't refrain from overhearing what you said about magnetic beds.

My thought was: what an utterly marvelous jest to play on Beaglehole, as he obviously has an array of plates in his head. He'd require a whole team of gardeners to pry the mattress from his dome. The image of it, I must say, approximates for me a minor but very delightful religious experience.

Bob, as usual, takes what many of us experience and articulates and deepens it.

I was on a videoconference last Friday that had people from around the world who only found each other through the internet based on an author's writings.

Note that this can be used for evil as well, as the worldwide resurgence in Radical Islamism has been enabled entirely by the internet.

Good point, Will, on the "higher internet". Imagination must preceed manifestation.

Which leads me to The Secret. It is a well done piece that perhaps will lead some people further along the path. There is an esoteric order whose teachings begin with the question: What do I want? Ultimately, as you progress you realize the question isn't focused on the "what" but the "I". As you get things you want, you realize that (a) they didn't satisfy as much as you thought and (b) perhaps your conception of "I" is wrong. Ultimately, verticalizing the "I" is the goal.

And finally, a question for Bob related to today's post: There is a point in a person's spiritual development where they can no longer return to their old life and ignore the pull of the spiritual. No matter how much they would like to return to their old world, they have to keep moving forward. It is like a door we go through that is only one way suddenly no matter how we have gone through it in both directions before. Is there a psychoboblical explanation of this?

Blessings to all of you for everything I have learned from you this year.

Bob and bobbleheads- I have learned so much here, and the way I have learned, or perhaps a better word is understood is what knocks me into contemplative nirvana (not the band).

As a bonus, as others have mentioned, Bob says things I know but could not articulate.This holds true for some of my fellow Raccoons.

The more I...absorb, the better I get at expressing my journey, and the easier it is to understand what initially I could not.

Part of that was terminology...words and definitions, with a depth I still struggle to put in words, because it goes beyond words, overflowing into music, art...Mythunderstanding.

Bob clearifies, yes! That's the word I was searching for.

And...as an extra-special Iseen on the cosmic cake, Bob and the bobbleheads have affirmed humor as an esensual component to navigate beyond the mindfields of pestisism and nagativity that is so prevalent without, and projected and nurtured by the left.

Kindred spirits are to be treasured. Looking into their faces is the precursor to seeing the face of God. It whets the appetite for the one Truth, and causes one to dig deeper, dream higher, think farther. The energy shared with such is more than the sum of its participants, much like charismatic worship that erupts into harmonics of tone and melody.

The afterglow of being with beings who not only know you, but gno, creates things that did not exist before; thoughts, ideas, hopes, possibilities, and even more life, if that were possible. It is always directed beyond the participants, and as you say, it's not for one to lead and another to follow.

I cannot sit idly by and allow my dear boy to be abused so by the likes of a dowager "Dame" (I use the term in the vernacular of the Americans.) Dame indeed! A title bought with dubious dubloons, I can imagine.

John has spoken at length about your indiscretions and boldness with the pool boy. I must express my astonishment in his choice of your erstwhile and thankfully, former, companionship. It has afforded him no end of chasing about Brighton and Eastbourne, attempting to undo the harm you've inflicted on his good name.

To that end, I implore the readers of this forum to explore the attributes and accomplishments of my dear boy:

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/beaglehole.html

Do you see? No lesser a light than NASA has shone upon him! And it's quite a handsome photo, too.

"When I speak with people I have the feeling that I can perceive their limitations physically; I see their limits almost tangibly before me and feel oppressed by the awareness that there is no entry and no key to their darkness, and that for them there is no exit. I am eager to know how many readers have also felt this, for I certainly do."

I would like to say several things about this passage and its underlying message--

1.) A dark room with no exit can exist in the mind, but humans have hearts as well. What a person believes mentally is not the whole enchilada. Every person has a psychic being and this is never completely squashed by any amount of intellectual burden. It is to the psychic being that a free person must speak when relating to a mentally self-oppressed being.

2.) To be oppressed by a severely limited person is a natural reaction, but I sugguest that you shrug it off and dig in deeper; it is the proper duty of the carrier of light to influence those who need it most, not the like-minded who need it least. That is not to say you shouldn't seek out like souls as a source of comfort and joy, but that is not where the main work lies. Reach out only to equals and your gift is ill-spent.

3.) Don't forget what our Employer wants and needs from His special workers; meditate on this. Compassion is a prime vehicle for discovering what needs to be done.

"I see their limits almost tangibly before me and feel oppressed by the awareness that there is no entry and no key to their darkness, and that for them there is no exit, that with dull eyes like fish they bump against the glass walls of their mental horizon. "

What a horrifyingly accurate description and painfully familiar.

I'm thinking of a friend of ours, a football coach in his spare time, successful there and in business, charismatic and in many areas inspiring... I think the previously blogged on term of "Vital Man" is apt for him. I used to work with him, and he soon rose out of the contractor ranks into employee and management. His recent comment to me during my wife’s unannounced (to me) not-quite-new-years-eve-new-years-eve-party-because-she-has-to-work-of-new-years-eve, he said "Van, you know how to crank up the charm, you could be where I am too, you just need to lay off on being so concerned about the quality of your work, and pay more attention to office politics, work the buzz! It really doesn't matter how well it works, only how well the people who matter think it works!" ... this with an air of confidentiality & follow me!

I just grinned and shrugged it off, observing him is just like watching a sleek powerful fish, bigger than the rest of the aquarium, but approaching anything spiritual or philosophical is to watch that powerful fish darting right up to the glass wall, staring out unseeing and unaware. It does give you a pained feeling, what he's lacking, what he's missing so outweighs what he has.

He's divorced, and when we do get together I can see him looking for an opportunity to revel in his revelries, and I do my best to dodge the moment. Being the Flogger I am, I had tried to broach some philosophical subjects before with him - and the glass wall he didn't see was so obviously before him - no entrance, no exit.

My wife had to tell me we were having a party as I was driving home thinking I'd be able to relax, because that's about the only way to get me to a party full of people like him. It's a tricky thing navigating between recognizing this, and saying that, and managing to keep your balance so as not to fall into contempt for them - in describing him, there are many admirable qualities I'm leaving out, and it's important not to use someone’s area of lacking as a foothold to climb over their heads with "Look how much higher I am than you!", but I am certainly familiar with the pained feeling on recognizing that aquarium wall before a large number of the people I meet. Likely, he has the same sensation when looking at me and my inability to rise to his ranks.

"What do I see when I go to your blog? It's like traveling on a dark night, towards a bubble of light on the horizon. You know that once you are there, you can refresh yourself, rest, be edified, and continue the journey."

Oh yes! Especially after just such encounters, oh Yes! Well said. With the Raccoons at One Cosmos "... there is such a tangible joy involved in connecting with someone on this level. ". I like the description of "the erotics of being," it is not only true, but it enables it to sound like it is almost as much fun as it actually is!

Beaglehole, the last time I spoke with your mother was three weeks ago by way of Ouija board. She still wants her ten shillings back.

Speaking of Ouija boards, I am off now to an auction where there is a chance I might obtain a board rumored to have been in Queen Victoria's possession for a time. My Waterfowl heirloom board was quite ruined when Beaglehole, shall we say, voided on it. "You give that (unmentionable adjective) board more attention than you do to me!", he was always shrieking.

"for the people who most agree with me are the ones who are probably the most fiercely independent"

I think that describes me. However the "iron bar" metaphor re Hitchens also used to describe me up until perhaps 10 years ago, when a single mystical experience lasting maybe 5 seconds (in clock time) nudged me on to a radically different path.

"Following" does not come naturally to me. I run a company of significant size and spend my days essentially telling people what to do.

Personality cults are also something of which I am extremely wary. I do not get the sense that anything like that happens here, which is why I am comfortable to come here and learn. For at this stage it really is about learning for me.

I am constantly pulled backward. Just yesterday I read an article concerning the "new" cosmology which postualtes that the Big Bang wasn't such a big deal after all, and that the Universe is actually an infinite series of Bang/Crunch events. Ten years ago I would have simply assimilated this. My first impulse yesterday was "how does this affect my new understanding of a Created universe, suffused with Life and Spirit?" I was being pulled backward again. After a few moments reflection it became clear what is going on: these men are getting scared that science is beginning to illuminate not the Dawkinsian nihility, but rather reflections of the Divine. They are desperately monkeying with the "standard model" in order to force it back into meaningless, materialistic happenstance. Any hint of purpose or order must be eliminated at all cost.

Anyhow I digress. I've known about new-agey "spiritual programs" for many years. I've known about organized religions, of coure. What makes One Cosmos feel like home for me is that Bob is able to synthesize for me--I mean to put into words that synthesize--all of the things I've learned over the years. I don't have to give up anything in order to ascend (although much falls away naturally, since it no longer has any power over me).

Mother! I am quite capable of defending myself from overbearing and suffocating women, if only you would give me half a chance!

And you needn't trot out my civilian accomplishments to bolster my friends' opinions of me. If they must know -- yes, I did once take an inordinate interest in Captain Cook's exploits, which is why I could not -- cannot -- forgive the Hawaiians for eating him. Yes, my attempt to banish Hawaii from the union ultimately proved bootless, but that is in the past. My new friends care not a whit for past deeds done or undone, but for the metaphysical insight I share with them.

I shall not even dignify the remark about so-called "plates in the head." Supposing I did have these plates and that they did priovide an extra layer of protection to the noble Beaglehole dome. They would be made of a PVC alloy, remember? You would have been there, would you not? You would have signed the consent form, no? You would have hustled Mr. Richards out the back door, over the garden terrace, no? We wouldn't speak of it again, would we? That is, if I had PVC plates in the head. Which I do not.

End of subject.

New topic: why are we so deathly uncomfortable in the presence of native Hawaiians?

I can actually agree with Moonbat Madness' point. It may be a bit off the germ of Bob's question: has this happened to you?, but it is a good prompting, nonetheless.

I almost responded to Bob's question with the answer to MM's observation. I do feel compelled to be "salt", to be a light in the darkness when I have occasion to speak with anyone, because good things are better when shared. Nothing is more satisfying than to see the lights come on!

But even at that, long before the opportunity to grab the salt-cellar, there is usually a perception of the limits there behind the aquarium glass. It is sad, and yet, it may take an army of light-hearted salt-shakers to arrive at the nexus of another being's soul-journing.

Knowing when that moment is, is nothing to denigrate. It is a holy economy of purpose to know when, how much, and how long, before you release that connection and allow that, perhaps the next in line will have the combination. I think it's good moral discipline to hope in that, even though the limitations are almost physically tangible.

It takes a good bit of humility and trust in the One, to let the fish go bumping about a bit longer, having eyes that do not see, and ears that do not hear. I can't create eyes and ears, no matter how I try. I think that is more to the point.

Take all the time you need, my son, to defend yourself. I really don't know why I bother. Let me just note that I did leave behind three years' worth of gaseous letters from you that go on and on in mundanities of your important work, what I should name the new hound etc. Shall I share them here?

Also, I had to hear all about how your Aunt Jeanne was flirting outrageously with you, but since she fed and housed you, you counted it a favorable encounter.

Yes, you were quite the gadabout London, the rake of Edgeware, while I remained here with the deuced Kiwis, deprived of a mother's comforts from her child's presence, worrying myself sick, and all you can think about is yourself.

I'll be deuced if I'll stand here and be treated like a school boy! Father is long gone, and it is high time you treated me as the man of the house. The man that I have become and the man that I am. I have important business at the Red Indian reservation, but before going, let me spell it out to you in perfectly plain english.... You may want to sit down. Er, don't breathe like that. You know how it frightens me so. Deep breaths, like the Swami instructed. There, that's better.

Now, where were we? Oh yes: mother, I shan't dilly-dally in your presence a moment longer, waiting for your approval. This is ridiculous. I want my allowance and I want it now. Or tomorrow at the latest.

Something about my last comment has been bothering me, pestered me in the shower & followed be about the house, won’t let what I said about the person I described stand as a slight upon him. Here in One Cosmos, we see the philosophical and spiritual side of Truth and Virtue and Spirit, but what we see is only the main entrance, there are many other side & back door's & windows to it which I think is important for me not to forget.

Myths abound of Hero's of action and spirit, who had less than admirably rounded lives, and yet they were heroic, they brought the Spirit into blazing contact with the herebelow and that can be every bit as important an achievement as knowing the particulars of how it was done, or what was involved.

From the OT, King David is often noted to have been 'Beloved of God'; ok, here was a guy that manages to make the Kennedy family look like an episode out of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, murders, adulteries, sending trusted lieutenants to there deaths for a roll in the hay... and yet 'Beloved of God'... why?

Bringing the Spirit into blazing contact with the herebelow to stand in time as an illustration for wordless communication of Truth and Virtue is to demonstrate and to communicate Truth and Virtue (I'm working on it Joan, right here) in its peculiar way just as well as spelling them out in chapter and verse.

The football coach I mentioned earlier has little or no contact intellectually with Truth and Virtue. He goes to church; he repeats what he hears and opposes what he hasn't heard, and then does what he does. But with a team of 13 yr olds, who don't yet realize that they are a team, he communicates Truth and Virtue, in the context of Football he embodies it, he instills Truth and Virtue into them far better than their quote unquote 'school' can even imagine doing. And they express that they’ve learned the lessons individually and as a team on the field and off sometimes quite spectacularly.

It isn't all in words and explicit thoughts, that’s just where we see it so profoundly expressed. Many are those who would try to take this into relativism, and I'd fight them tooth and nail for that would pervert what I'm saying, I'm just saying that it doesn't take saying to say Truth and Virtue and Spirituality loud and clear.

There, I said it; now stop following me around and pestering me. Sheesh.

Dr. Bob said, "I am eager to know how many readers have also felt this, for I certainly do. In dealing with someone, there is a sort of instantaneous -- and oppressive -- intuition of the exact limits of their horizons."As far back as I can remember, probally around 2nd grade I've always been aware of people's "spirit" (or whatever it is that comes out of them). I either find them acceptable to be near me or I am repulsed by them... like, how do I keep them out of my space...

I have found very few "joyful" people in my 64 years; I could count them on one hand, and I have been many places and lived many places.I don't think you can "hide" joyful."joyful" is the best word I can use to describe a true relationship with God.I would not consider myself too sensitive or an introvert because I have a "joyful" and, as Dr. Bob likes to say, a vertical relationship with God. He is my mother, father, friend, Savior.

I think the reason I am joyful is I believe that when you receive the true Word, which is Christ, inside you, there is no other satisfaction like it. His Word truly does become a part of you, if you are able to accept it. I would not know how this can be explained but God does.

In John 16:33 Christ told us to be of good cheer, even though you will have tribulation in this world, that He had overcome the world.Good advice.

Oh, and about being left-handed. I am left-handed. I decided in grade school that I didn't want to be "damaged" or become a right handed person.In those days one had penmanship and the teacher would come around and position my paper in such a way that I had to curl my arm and hand around in order to write. I thought that was so stupid to try to turn me into a contorious position. So, when she would walk away, I just flipped my paper back the right way, to the left of course, and layed my arm and hand down and wrote. Beautiful penmanship by the way.Then, I was in an accident and my whole left hand was in a cast. I could see the gleam in my teacher's eye when I came to school. "Now, I've got her - I could read her mind!"Well, I humored her scribbling with my right hand until the cast came off and then I was back to writing with my left-hand!So, see, as early as grade school I was already reading "their" minds!

While Beaglehole continues on with his dialogue at the Bates motel - and oh lord, how but the years have unhinged him - I might suggest that when he speaks of his "mummy", he might very well be speaking quite literally. For it was several decades ago when he and several of his Yank friends of California persuasion had the following idea for a joint enterprise: they would offer "full mummification services" to the recently deceased, this being "in the best of Egyptian mystical tradition".

Beaglehole then asked me to invest heavily in this disgusting enterprise, a request which I quite naturally refused. My refusal of course assured that "MummyDearest Co." never made it off the ground.

However, I have long suspected that Beaglehole, in his period of Egyptian infatuation, did in fact - oh ghastly thought, be not true! - have his own mother mummified. You see, my dear friends? Beaglehole's mother died decades ago! I've been communicating with her in seances since 1978.

The shuddering image comes to me unbidden: Beaglehole in his garage, speaking ferveently with the mummified remains of Mrs. Beaglehole - God rest her dotty soul - who is propped up before a laptop and "posting" by way of Beaglehole's own unconsciously motivated fingers.

Of course, "unconsciously motivated" is giving Beaglehole the vast benefit of the doubt.

Appreciate when you describe a Lion w/o other Lions near. Life can be a Wilderness for Lions while its often a "herd-party" for Sheep. Jesus saw & taught Discples: "Evil often florishes while Good suffers, does without. But do not let this fool you. In either condition, do all for Christ, and pursue growth, run the race to finish and gain the Prize." Lions are more pursuant, yet peaceful than Sheep (in this spiritual metaphor.) Christ was/is a Lion.

People, thoughts/lies, things or self become ones Focus & god if you lose sight of God/Truth. So one must find the God-Parent & keep focused on Him - Hes a Relationship, not a thing. Keep focused on Him, whether one is a Lion or a Sheep, whether in the Wilderness, or in the Herd-Party.

Sacred relationship w/God-Parent/Truth enables Lions to thrive, even while alone - not just survive amidst Sheep & Wolves. Sheep Alernate between Lion/Sheep, Up/Down the Vertical. But Lions grow to become more Liony. When Sheep alternate, they've lost focus w/their inner God-Parent; they've focused on things/others and devolve down the Vertical instead of maintaining stability or moving up the Vertical.

The secret of Spiritual Lions: they have courage, they keep focused in their spiritual hunting, they get own food, they like the contact of the pride (community) but can also leave it when needful (they arent codependent), hence they dont need followers, dont want followers, never wanna be gurus to followers. But a True Lion will abide spasmodic Sheep well and not be phased by their lunacies. (But he might consider eating a Wolf or two since they are his natural enemy down the Vertical!)

Sheep usually have "codependent relationships" (bondages) with their limits, self, sins & addictions. When they refuse to let go they don't Transcend. Lions have self, sins, limits Too but CHOOSE consistently to be responsible / responsive to transcend limits w/God-Parent as focus, not objects, sins or Sheep as focus. This gives a Lion its great Stability & Strength (spiritual authority) no matter the spiritual weather, storms or temptations to eat a few Sheep along the way who keep bothering the Lion. Lions learn to "auto-pare-down" as they grow n go, instead of "switcherooing" in/out the way Sheep psychotically do. Sheep still switch often, between Truth + Lies, Reality + Fantasy, Good + Evil. Lions are more mature, have greater spiritual authority and ability, so dont switch like Sheep do.

Hence, Lions CAN'T follow Gurus. They can only follow their Truth/God-Parent focus - true even if they be Evil Lions! Nor do Lions understand the constant fuss amongst Sheep as to "followers." Sheeps fears are unreal to a true Lion. Hes not phased by them. Nor is he attracted to them. Lions have courage becuz they face fear and it does not conquer them the way it does Sheep. Rather A Lion conquers his fears in order to not be a Sheep anymore.

Instead, a Lion likes to meet other Lions. They do not want "followers" from amongst the Herd-o-Sheep.

Spiritual Lions fear less as they have more Spiritual Courage & their focus is in God/Truth not unstable truth/lies. Sheep have more Fear & Switch spasmodically as they lack Spiritual courage & focus in Truth/God.

Faith answers Fear...or fear gets the better of you, and you might stay a SpazoidSheep.

So if you come up against a Spiritual Lion and you are a Sheep, you'll lose in the Fear/Faith dept. until you also become more of a Lion, less of a SHeep.

Lions learn to stay focused hence are more stable, more mature, can abide w/Sheep. Thats why Jesus said, "Feed my Sheep." Sheep need feeding - they dont know how to feed themselves well or serve Truth consistently (since they deny there is any Absolute Truth.) In contrast, a Lion knows how to get its own food and can be trusted to get its own spiritual sustenance. Its much more interdependent (INTEGRAL) w/God+Truth rather than being codependent like Herd-Sheep who constantly need & seek the shelter of the Herd. (Maturity vs. Immaturity.)

Sheep alternately despise & admire Lions. Jesus knew this, spoke of & suffered thru radical switching of Sheep/Crowd & Pharisees during Passover week. He is our Anchor still despite Storms & Death. He was killed as the Lamb. But He weathered becuz He is a Lion at Heart. And He comes back as The Lion.

When the "alternating" phenomenon occurs in Sheep around you, let it be a sign to warn you "Spazoid Sheep Switching Ahead!" They are not yet Lions, not consistently able to stay in Spiritual Authority against self, fears & limits. You wont mistake Sheep for Lions, nor be angry when Sheep are just being Sheep when they spaz-out.

Lefties & Gnostics (Wolves) refuse to see or fathom that Spiritual Growth & Transcendence occurs within Spiritual Relationship w/God+Truth. Hence they Dont Transcend much. Transcendence / Spiritual Growth doesnt occur via just head knowledge+gnosis. While knowledge can be of benefit, Gnosticism is a limit. So Gnostics, Pseudo-Intellectuals and Anti-Intellectuals all show & have contempt for others who Transcend, when they do not.

Later I'll type a succinct blog on differences beween different types of Spiritual Sheep, Lions and Wolves.

HEH: "Welcome to CosmoZoo! Here be Critters of all persuasions. [But the Lions rule (have Spiritual Authority) so step lightly as you transcend into your own Lionhood. LOL!]"

All Lions mostly want are to connect with Other Lions. Yet they must also abide with the Sheep for a bit here at CosmoZoo. (Kind of like guys learning to live with women having bad PMS until the females transform thru it & dont have it anymore. And ladies get tired of the males macho-huffery & peterpansy-ism, same deal.)

Am comforted the aforementioned Osteen will NOT be appearing at Raccoon Lodge or any conventions! Nothing against Osteen (well, not much; ok, alot) He's not my Cup of Spiritual Tea. I find no Spiritual resonance w/his ministry even tho he attracts 30,000+ believers to his Stadium Church.

Here Be Lions. Nice to know I'm with other Lions who also live among Sheep.

New Year's Resolution suggestion for you - write your thoughts down (and you've got some insightful ones), then cut, cull, collate, sum up, and then post. it'll be a good exercise in clarity and conciseness. You want to make it easy for people to comprehend what you're saying, right?

I mean, c'mon, you're making Beaglehole and Waterfowl look like ad copy writers.

Oh and re the latest histrionics of she-who-shall-not-be-named. While it is true that I did, for a time, dabble in the mortician's arts, my motive in doing so was not to preserve the dead, but to benefit the living.

Yes, I was having a back-and-forth with my good friend, Dr. Deepak Chopra -- a medical man, as you know -- who mentioned something about the magical blend of 17 herbs and spices that maintained his youthful complexion of rubbery chocolate. He didn't discover it himself, but he knew a man who knew a man who knew Dr. Andrew Weil, who had gotten the secret from Dr. John Lilly -- you know, the dolphin man.

Lilly had coaxed the secret from -- I kid you not -- one of the dolphins of his intimate acquaintance, as -- or so the story goes -- there was once a great alliance between the rulers of Atlantis and the dolphin community. The two communities shared their wisdom, which enriched each. In the case of the dolphins, you will have no doubt noticed that they do not seem to age. Have you ever seen an old and wrinkled dolphin? No, no one has. In this regard, they are somewhat similar to Hawaiians, except in the case of the latter, I mark it down to their excessive body fat and oily skin.

At any rate, the dolphins were kind enough to share their anti-aging formula with the Atlanteans, which eventually made its way to Egyptian civilization, only in a highly debased "death-worshiping" form. In fact, if you want to know the truth, this was one of the things Moses objected to, as he wanted the secret to be applied to life -- "l'chaim," as they say. And to this day, you will no doubt have noticed that a disproportionate number of "youth preserving" plastic surgeons are of Jewish extraction.

But I digress. Dr. Chopra was kind enough to share a tube of his life-extending unguent with me, and sure enough, when applied to Mrs. Beaglehole (my mother), it did have a remarkably rejuvenating effect -- both mentally and... hormonally, if I may be discreet. This marked the birth of "MummyDearest," which I think you will agree is a smashing good pun worthy of Dr. Godwin on one of his intermittent good days.

Oh drat! Beaglehole's at it yet again with his blasted Hawaiian and Captain Cook obsession, now grown, it seems, into full blown psychosis. Understand, dear friends, a cloud appeared over the House of Lords some years ago, and Beaglehole left under it. Every session he would stand up and rail about the great injustice done to Captain Cook until, with eye (he only has one that actually functions) rolling madly, he plunged and fiercely expectorated.

Oh damnation, I actually feel a tremor of pity coming on.

Beagie? This is Edith, dear. Let's do what we used to do whenever these spells would descend. All right? Do you remember? That's right, we clap our hands, we tap our feet - yes, go ahead and put on your clown nose and open an unbrella. Are you wearing only your skivvies? Good Beagie! Now let's sing together . . . "I've got a luvely bunch of coconuts" . . come on, you can sing louder . . .that's right . . .

Will, Thanks. I did try to keep it to the point - but now I actually scrolled it and I SEE how long it is! I'm sorry about that. I actually chopped alot out of it. Guess not enuf. At least I'm committed to learning and doing.

Maybe you Guys can help me turn this into Practical Application: Is it possible to type first in Wordpad or MSWord doc, then copy/paste here when edited? I tried to do this from an Email format, where I typed first, then chopped down, but it wouldn't paste it into this box we type in.

Do you every stop to consider the meaning of the language you invent or do you just hurl absurd phrases that satisfy your quite obvious need to find conclusive pigeon-holes in which to comfortably place those who don't agree with you?

EuroElitistAussie?

Now, this has got to be a testament to ignorance. Only a person who knows, quite literally nothing, about Australia, nothing at all about its culture, its history could possibly hurl such, presumably degoratory invective.

Methinks *princessspirit* you betray your real ideological intent when you suggest that anybody who is "Anti-American" is "senseless" or *tasteless*.

Oh how the mighty have fallen if this is the human consitution of what aspired to be a great republic.

btw: your loon guru speaks of the infinite, I am wondering just what infinite he is speaking of, you know there is more than one, don't you?

"EuroElitist Snob" is standard fare here. Looks like you didn't know even that. And yes, they are Anti-American. Learn the words you don't know.

LOL, I didn't invent or make them up. We use it to describe your sort and ones far greater than I can spot your types from a millions miles away - accurately. What matter the name? The meanings the same. If the shoe fits, at least wear it well.

Princess, of course you can copy and paste from MS word, but I don't know why you can't copy from email. For my (relatively) long posts, I make a copy in email in case I lose the post when I try to send it. If I do lose it as sometimes happens, I just copy from email and re-post.

Of course, you can always write what you have to say in the commentary box and just keep paring it down until you feel its concise enough to send.

All right, I know it's a pain in the butt to go to all that effort, but think of it as a spiritual exercise, because that's what it really is.

Anon: You came onto this blog hurling insults at G-BOB - now you whine??

ROFL! How utterly typical of your types! We have ALOT of words to describe ones here in our own USA who are just like that - they're called Leftists!! Professional Victims!! Whiners!!

Learn the lingo if you expect to play in the Big Leagues and be taken with any seriousness. And learn to take your hits too without whining so much. People will at least think you a worthy opponent then, instead of a sissy who says "Ow!! That hurtt!!! Thats not faaaair!!!!"

"People who live in Glass Houses ... shouldn't throw stones at others...and then whine when its thrown back and hits them between the eyes."

Come to think of it, Inty smells like a EuroElitist as well. You can be Nutter Buddies together since you both act alike.

No doubt its Inty again in his umpteenth reincarnation and Anon is his 10th shard of a real self.

Sounding mighty stoopid again there, *Anon*Inty*! Or should I say John?

- PrincessSpirit -

Goodnight All. Am off to New Years Eve Party @ Art Museum. Have a Happy & Safe New Years, Everyone! Even you Inty - Certainly wouldn't want to see you get into a wreck & pester the good Drs. & Nurses w/your incessant drivel now, would we? (Not a good way to start THEIR New Year.)

Well, there have always been plenty of people in my life, but seldom very much perceptual agreement from them i.e. Bob's "pain that apparently has no name." As a young man, I felt contempt for others, but now a certain kindness arises, which feels much better. (Someone once asked Pete Townshend why he was so angry as a young man, and he replied that he thought that anger would solve things.) I easily admit that the daily doses of light and in-sight at One Cosmos has been a BIG relief for my mind.

Now you can not only spot my *type* but you can definitively identify me. You should be a TV series, seriously.. a sitcom.

*princess* I am an afraid your displaying all the toleraance of Marie Antionette at a peasants picnic.

you know my daughter chucks exactly those little tiss's

oh and btw will, *jealousy* is it that inconcievable to you that others do not want to be like you that when they disclaim embracing your values that are secretly jealous? Seriously now..

But, deep inside everyone is an American, right. Of course. It has to be: and for those it aint, well we can just kill them eh. The Vietnamese wanted to be American but killing 4 million of them just wasn't quite enough to get the job done.

You know the British Empire managed to last over a century, your is crumbling after 50 years. I am now begining to understand why. If you can't grasp the simple logic of difference then I guess Bagdad in 2007 or 8 or 9 is inevitably going to be another Siagon in 75. Oh, you'll be stabbed in the back, of course, just like Germany in 1917 or like those *leftist* students in the 60's.

And bon, well.. Australian culture exists, truly it does - even after croc man tickled the stingray. Poor bugger.

Dear boy, your allowance will be restored when you come to your senses. I see that that Dame is trying to draw you back into her clutches with promises of unrestrained British frivolity and clown noses. Well.

You can pitch and yaw about on your own sea of insanity, but I'll none of it! Get that wretched Dame to supply your allowance, if it means so much to you.

Content oh yes. This tribal outback is most accomodating. Five minutes from a golden beach in fact. Quite lovely.

but there ya go again, "Still jealous" It can only ever be this can it not will? We must be jealous of a nation with the highest rate of incarceration in the world. We simply have to got envy your sparkling health care system. Of course, I secretly want a Green Card, lol.

Just stay where you are will: believe it all. But stay where you are and the rest of us will be ever so grateful.

You have so thoroughly assimilated the Yank penchant for the "fast buck" that you are actually considering this?

If you hadn't spent your entire inheritance on such schemes as your UFO landing sites, "streaking seminars", portable sensory-deprivation chambers, and the like, you surely would not have descended to this, this . . grubbery.

Van, your insight into spirituality being found in other than the intellect and in words has a ring of truth to it. I'm glad you took time to articulate this.Now that I think about it, it seems that a certain nobility can be detected in all earnest persons, no matter what their outlook or occupation. The Lord shines through his flimsy disguises, revealing the glory.

Even the impertinent Aussie radiates a certain childlike will-to-connect that points to the sould within.

Anonymous, the only way I'd want to visit most of the rest of the world would be in a B-52.

If our dynamic system ever goes socialist, there goes your high-tech, your first rate medicines, your innovative just about everything which we supply the rest of the world with. Including military protection. Remember the Imperial Japanese? You'd be a Japanese colony had it not been for us.

We go down, good luck with the Chinese. Maybe you can beat em back with digereedoos.

Hoy hoy, mate -- come out of your skanky billabong and share a treat with us from your tatty old tucker bag -- maybe something aside from your Taliban-BBC-DNC barking points, you filthy lefty dingo! Why, if I were an Aborigine, I wouldn't even eat the likes of you. With pudding on the side!

Well.. I was sitting down having my morning cup of tea. I hit the "search blogs" button on google for a query that had taken my fancy and I discovered a few, at least to me, quite crazy right-wing websites that astounded me. I thought such people were only caricatures, you know streotypes - we don't really have that type of political discourse in this country, so it was all quite startling.

Anyway, on one of these sites, cannot remember which there was a link to guru Bob, so I clicked and.. voila!

I started reading and well, frankly was more amused than impressed. But I got a good giggle out of the "One Cosmos" thing. I noticed the the repititious use of the word infinite and began to wonder if anyone knew what this meant, whether thet thought there was one Infinite or many. Now, we all should know thanks to a bloke called Cantor that there not a single infinite but many countably infinite infinites. Moreover these infinites can be ordered, one can be said to be *bigger* than the other.

So I kept reading, sorta hoping to find some insight, but.. I just kept giggling. This Guru Bob is quite the loon. Sorry Bob, if you consider this insulting, it really is not meant to be, but then again how can you tell someone you think they are loopy without actually insulting I really do not now.

Then I started reading the *comments* and well you can read the rest.

So that is how I arrived at this tiny little corner of cyberspace on this quite lovely monday morning.

Don't be too upset, I am really being nothing more than playful and not actually trying to *spew* forth my views or upset anyone actually.

I am just an Aussie having a wonderful giggle on the first day of 2007.

As a left handed misfit myself, and having gained a little perspective, I see that although I’ve had things a bit tough, life in this modern society is a relative cakewalk. I guess I’ve always seen things a little differently than most but I don’t see any alternatives to what I may have dome differently as far as any type of consciousness compromise goes. I’ve passed up many an opportunity to have an easier lifestyle when I felt I was heading in the wrong direction and was losing myself. Maybe that’s the way God intended it, the constant abrasion either wears you out or it makes you stronger and more competent, depending on how you deal with it.

This post reminded me of some time I spent in the mountains of southwest Virginia one summer and the “overcoming“ of left handedness. On Thursday nights at a local meeting place, some local bluegrass musicians would congregate for a night of dancing, clogging, pickin‘ and grinin‘. Periodically, musicians from other areas would hear about it and come, some of whom were professional musicians and a few, quite famous in bluegrass circles. One night a man appeared, and as the night progressed, I learned that he had been playing music since his childhood by just picking up instruments and playing by ear. Since all those instruments were right handed, this left handed man was playing them backwards and upside down, being self taught, he hadn’t learned it wasn’t supposed to be done that way. He shortly became the leader as people looked towards him to get songs going due to the self evident fact that he was far and away the virtuoso of the group. Depending on the song, he would walk over and pick up a different instrument and begin playing. Whether it be a banjo, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass… he knew how to play it and was the best at playing it. He was amazing to watch.

"When I speak with people I have the feeling that I can perceive their limitations physically; I see their limits almost tangibly before me and feel oppressed by the awareness that there is no entry and no key to their darkness, and that for them there is no exit, that with dull eyes like fish they bump against the glass walls of their mental horizon.”

I’ve spoken with many people where I could actually see this. Mainly I just try and ask them questions whose answers will shed a differing perspective than the one they currently have. The open ones will then have a seed planted which will then begin to germinate. Six months down the road they may have incorporated the new perspective as their own thought with little clue as to when the new perspective began. On the other hand, others, particularly the socio-political dogmatist type, when they realize that you are taking them somewhere they don’t want to go will close down, and after a time will actually begin to demonize me, if only in their own mind, in an attempt not to be “corrupted” by the new thoughts which would then affect their world construct. Noooo! can’t have that happen. :) An antidote of several hours of NPR or CNN “news and comment” programming will then be needed to wash off all traces of the differing opinion and the politicos worldview is restored. It’s a sad thing that the most socially myopic people, with the worst un-transcended upbringings and the most dysfunctional family lives seem to be the most politically motivated to tear things up by the roots..

Oh and to Will. Sign up mate. Uncle Sam wants you in Iraq: go for mate. Oh and btw we stopped the Japanese at Kokoda, the first time in WWII the Japanese army was turned back, you know after they kicked your arses outa da Philippines.

Though Colonel Beaghlehole and I are obviously of different spiritual perspectives, we do hold in common a great respect and admiration for our American colonies, without whom we - indeed the world - would exist under the boot heel of either fascism or totalitarianism.

As for those who disagree, you may now insert yourself into your toilet, pull the chain, and swirl on down, left to right. Or in you case, Mr Australian, that would be right to left.

Also, a bit of my personal story, when I was growin' up I knew the feeling you spoke of.

Not to mention my Dad's gifts of a bunch of mind parasites that I had to dispose of.

But that aside, I remember being wondrously interested in all manners of study -- something NEVER shared by my classmates (except in a few rare exceptions.)

Naturally, this scholarly passion set me apart from my classmates. And like Schoun, I primarily found myself to be at fault. Of course, like I mentioned, the mind parasites I had to deal with created havoc on their own. (By this, I mean bad habits I picked up that were pointless other than to create trouble for myself and others.)

I remember reading the Scarlet Letter -- granted, not the best of the world's fiction-- but I found it excellent. Needless to say, I was the ONLY one who did.

Again, when I had finally tackled those parasites (well, enough of them) to be functional, I found myself, more or less, at college.

Imagine trying to explain to a crowd of PC Christonians that as much trouble as black folks have faced growing up, I faced the same thing -- not as being different in color, but different in a deeper way.

Again, imagine their disapproval when I mentioned how I was able to cope with this difference. Not by CHANGING who I am-- which on the essential level is not just impossible but unwanted-- but by fighting against the fleshly nature on one hand, bad habits on another, and just having a determination to make peace with others.

Needless to say, I was so horribly, fully insulted by the leftist agitprop 'The Color of Fear' that I walked out. To me it was a trivialization of what I had gone through my whole life-- wrestling with my differences (that at the time I did not think were inherent) and overcoming their negative impact on my life and wrestling with the denizens of the lower vertical, the bad habits, the bad ideas and so forth.

The movie basically substituted good thinking, determination and so forth for a feelgood racial kumbaya bullhockey. By which I mean blaming white people for being privileged and telling them to weep with their colored brethren -- and probably give them money.

Anyhow, I felt a fairly deep 'click' when I got here a month and half or so ago-- not that I always agree (especially on Christian/exoteric kind of stuff) but I noticed something different about Bob's approach.

The reason for my immediate-commenting is, well-- I'm the guy who always raised his ephing hand IMMEDIATELY in class and the teacher eventually stopped calling on.

I talk too much in real life, and that comes through in the blogosphere.

I never studied much, but always knew stuff- because I was always 'studying' -- I.E paying attention and making connections.

I've never been greatly proficient at any manual skills, I mean-- few would doubt (who have heard) that I am good pianist (though no master.) For me, advancing my skill was always hinged on me understanding new things instead of practicing hard and repeating lots of exercises.

Prin-- I think its a better handle, mostly 'cause I was never a fan of the 'psycho' (psychological associations nonwithstanding.)

Princesses though, I totally dig that. As long as they are royal in spirit and not just puffed up in attitude.

Jolly good show Edith. I might add that the question of "multiple infinities" is actually a point of genuine metaphysical dispute mirroring the perennial Shankara/ Ramanuja divide: to wit, does the sort of infinite stupidity manifested in the beastly Aussie dingo truly qualify as infinite? I think not. It is merely a privation -- the "shadow of nothing," as it were. Infinite in its own perverse way, but still an abuse of the term. Or so Alan once remarked.

Which reminds me. If you think Watts was entertaining on those stodgy old Pacifica radio broadcasts, you should have seen him after an ego-flattening dose of peyote and a fifth of Russian vodka, playing tenor sax with no pants on in his houseboat in Sausalito! Those were the days, eh Edith?

You know, J.C., I find myself rather approving of this "One Cosmos" web log. Clearly Dr. Godwin eschews all the "new age" nonsense that has so captivated your attention and addled your brain all these many years. Keeep reading it, you just might learn something.

Surely the Dr. will soon be posting on the worthiness of spirit communication, seance, and Ouija board, which, I might add, are quite British.

And Beaglehole, your pipe is no doubt clenched in your left hand, just as it always was when you believed you had lost it.

Beaglehole, why I ever went on that trip to California with you is quite beyond my ken.

Oh, I do know, on further reflection. It was to keep you from killing yourself in your attempt to match Mr. Watts's breathtaking illegal substance intake. As it was, you had your head within a sick bag during the entire flight back to Heathrow.

Edith, you are quite incorrect. Lysergic acid was not an illegal substance until 1967, and the last time I checked, Russian vodka was quite legal in whatever prodigious quantity required by Mr. Watts to quench his thirst. After all, the man toiled to earn his daily bread by the sweat of his voice. Perhaps his throat was dry.

Perhaps you are referring to the, ahem, herbal jazz cigarettes, which, if one could measure such things in terms of breathless giggling, you yourself proved to be quite the enthusiast. And let us pass over your -- what is the word? -- midnight lunchies? -- in silence.

Col.,I was with a friend who did smoke some cantaloupe rind with him, but alas, I was/am a real "dud" at such things. As I recall, he soon laid down, and went to sleep (pants on). Nothing dramatic like your adventures. Also watched him prepare a meal once, up at his little cabin on Mt. Tamalpais; one of his books was a "journal" from time he spent there. Some years later, we listened to tapes of him on radio every Sunday morning - our version of "church".

You'll note that I hold my temper regarding your faux-pas, but I will have you know that I am the product of a resplendent and very long line of Waterfowls dating back to the reign of Aethelred. We do demand that our lineage nomenclature be pronounced and spelled correctly.

The only matter I wish to be changed regarding my lineage is the unfortunate family crest, which - as Beaglehole was so fond of pointing out whilst we had company - seemed to depict a rather large bird of no particular genus that was skimming over a pond in a rather unsuccessful attempt to gain altitude.

I'm jealous: 5 mins from the beach & it's summer too. I'd go there this very second, even with that overlong plane ride, since that would keep me from freezing my buns off here.

Lots of good stuff down there, things that make me say Yumm Yumm.

I've heard the men are brutes & pigs, but that can have a certain appeal, especially when combined with the eye-candy aspect. Certainly beats the revolting Metrosexuals we have.

Plus, it's summer there.

The Aussies RIGHTLY glorify swimmers. Gotta love those Tunabods. I just about die when I watch Ian Thorpe in the water & read somewhere he has really BIG hands & feet. Ummm, no I won't ask.... that's what comes from reading too much Dame Edith.

Say, do they broadcast those beach lifesaver/boat team competitions pm TV? You know, the ones where they wear those silly caps (with those cute bows under their manly chins) & ummm... VERYskimpy racing suits? Don't tell me they've gone to lycra trunks or those zip-in bodysuits. Oh no!

Since I have a chance to ask, are you guys into Waterpolo? I mean, professional, adult male level? My favorite Tunabod, as a type I mean. Here they're all way too young & aaah, err, not fully formed.

Aussie Rule Football is a great game, kinda reminds me of Waterpolo on grass. Very exciting to watch, but the players ARE a bit too, err, covered-up. Unlike American Football, at least they don't spend their time looking ridiculous in their get-ups, standing around endlessly & then smashing into each other, like a bunch of morons. Gotta give you that.

Crappy call against the Socceroos in that game with Italy. I was rooting all along for the Azurri, Totti IS gorgeous (and rather stupid, I've heard) but they should have won that game fair & square, not thru a bogus penalty. Whole world knows it too. FIFA is full-of-it, has been all along.

Must confess I'm looking forward to some Soccer Smackdown, especially of those cheating Koreans, now that you guys are in the Asian League. Go Socceroos!

Besides, for a Foodie like me, what I see of current-wave eating down there, makes me DROOL. Looks like the best of everything to me.

Excuse me Dame Edith for my egregious spelling error. Certainly you can overlook the mistake of a man with the misfortune of being born a Yank and a poorly bred one at that. I hope this will not preclude you from a small donation of capital to jumpstart our fledgling enterprise. The monetary rewards and notoriety will be well worth the pittance initially spent. You'll also achieve the star status one such as yourself so readily deserves. ;)

I think this word puzzle sums up everything re our attempts to explain anything.A bulldog and a possum meet on a road. An owl shouts from a tree. "The diffference between red and yellow is hardly worth mentioning!" Then the prairie dog says, "Look at my leg, and especially the toenails!".A woman comes out of the woods and shows her teeth. What is the outcome?

Or more succinctly.Where is up?How big is light?Where is your ass-hole?

People routinely leave comments that make it clear that they not only do not understand my post, but even the point of the blog. Often they will take something I wrote and merely fit it into their existing framework -- in other words, they place me within their own limits...

...I had found a fellow Raccoon, a person with no limits! Just as I can instantly sense someone's limits, I now realize that I could sense her freedom.

You gotta be frickin' kidding me! How arrogant is this, Bob? You assume that anyone who disagrees or critiques you doesn't understand you, is fitting you into their framework, their own limitations. But then you say that you and your "fellow Raccoons" have no limits! (And thus, by extension, no framework by which you fit others into!).

Are you kidding or are you actually this self-deluded?

Now don't get me wrong--I agree that your blog serves a purpose and one that may be, overall, "upward serving" (in terms of what you call Verticality). But this post, again, reveals the GLARING BLINDSPOT of this blog.

Take that for whatever its worth.

Now, just as I do not have contempt for the person who does not understand me, I do not draw any kind of egoic gratification from these kinds of comments. For one thing, these people are my equals, undoubtedly gifted in certain areas I am not. The point is the same as with the correspondent alluded to above: the erotics of being, the liberating joy of finding another person to play with in hyperspace! We're not alone after all!

Nicely said. Just don't kid yourself that you are a club of folks that are completely free and without pre-existing frameworks (and biases) by which you (mis)understand others. Otherwise you're putting yourself on a self-declared pedestal, above pretty much everyone else, and thus apart from everyone else (in this sense I agree with our friend from Oz: you will only ever preach to the choir, unless you "see" and "rectify" this blindspot).

So if I am going to have "followers," it can only be in this sense: to help people vault themselves beyond their own limits in their own unique idiom. This is what my most esteemed teachers have done for me. I will always be their humble student but never their follower, or I will have both insulted them and learned nothing in the process. For there is none good but One; and to quote Schuon again, this One "wishes to be worshiped by every man according to the nature He gave him."

YES. Then to begin to actually practice this in the context of disagreement, and begin to recognize that you are not free from limitations, that you have blindspots and, at the same time that you help free others, continue to free yourself--and be open to others helping you, which may appear as disagreement to your own egoic limitations.

The world was also made for heterosexuals. If you are homosexual, we can only say tough luck. We are not going to overturn the order of the cosmos just so you can feel more comfortable in it. This is such a narcissistic demand.

This is a rather narrow way of looking at the issue, imo. Rather than take a flatland approach of deciding who the world was made for based upon biology and sexuality, instead ask this question: can the world accommodate the vast diversity of expression that it manifests?

How can you say who or what the world was "made for?" Isn't this, also, arrogant self-delusion, a form of egoic conflation, along the lines of "The world was made for what I think it was made for." (In other words, you are projecting your own narcissism onto homosexuals).

This is a virtual declaration in support of acquiescence to evil. Neatly sums up your ignorance as well.

You've probably read enough Wilber and the like to intellectually grasp, at least on some level, what Bob is talking about. However, you are utterly without genuine gnosis. You aren't aware of this, of course; how could you be?

Dr Godwin,I would also like to take issue with something you posted yesterday. You said:

“A very interesting book called The Symmetry of God by Rodney Bomford, which does the best job of integrating sophisticated theology and modern psychoanalysis I have ever encountered.”

Now, Dr. Godwin, it is obvious from the above statement that you have NO familiarity with my works. Perhaps you receive your knowledge of me second hand from such clowns as visit here pretending to have assimilated my theories. Absolute morons who make reference to me when it is clear, they haven’t a scintilla of understanding of that why I try to convey.Bomford doesn’t hold a candle to my genius.

"You gotta be frickin' kidding me! How arrogant is this, Bob? You assume that anyone who disagrees or critiques you doesn't understand you, is fitting you into their framework, their own limitations. But then you say that you and your "fellow Raccoons" have no limits!"

Will, nice try but no cigar. Your response seems based more on emotional reaction than an actual assessment and understanding of what I am saying.

Acquiescence of evil? Hardly--or at least I am not acquiescing evil. But the world? Certainly--or at least it allows for evil to arise; it does exist, yes?

And of course you make no mention of any flexibility of interpretation as to what "evil" is, your simplistic usage implying a static definition.

Furthermore, you make the same leap that I was "accusing" Bob of making: you equate disagreement automatically with a lower statis, my supposed lack of "genuine gnosis," which I presume is more ideological--which you are not aware of, obviously, how could you be?--than mystical.

A few days ago, Joan said she was looking up the definition of the word 'tedious'. My dictionary has it as "tiresome because of length or dullness; boring". So I suppose my "inner fatigue" is born of "tedium".

By the way, for your reference so you don't appear too much of the intellectual stumblebum in your future debates - one doesn't "acquiesce of evil" or "acquiesce evil". There is only "acquiesce TO or IN evil" - which your previous statement does suggest.

And yes, of course, the world allows for evil, that's the whole point. This world is the arena wherein the poles of good and evil are delineated and where we must eventually make a clear choice between one or the other.

Among your vast expressions of diversity in the world there clearly exists expressions of evil, to varying degrees. Such expressions are not sanctified by the mere fact of their existence, and if you really believe they are, good luck.

To "accommodate" such expressions is to - note phrase usage, please - acquiesce to (or in) evil. One must attempt to transform, sublimate, convert the lower passions into the energies of love, but this is not an accommodation, rather it is a recognition of what is base and needs be transformed. Thus there are times when evil must be forcibly confronted, both in the interior and exterior worlds.

Interesting read. As I read, I could not help but recall the warnings/descriptions of having wisdom: biblically there is a phrase that say, to the effect, wisdom causes pain; another writer somewhere described being wise as beating your head against the wall.

As a young man, for several years, I prayed foolishly for wisdom. To the extent I received it, I have felt the pain of isolation from my fellow man.

It has made being a Christian difficult and has made being an artist a lonely, questionable, struggle. As for female companionship, I am considered too deep.

Once the iron bars have been removed, there is much friction and pain as one must fight to keep from being imprisoned again: even family relationships become dissonant and difficult as one attempts to remain free.

I remember a phrase from Kurt Vonnegut's writings: " In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." No, he is the court jester!

The Holy Spirit is our Spiritual Radar against evil within self and evil without, in others - He does not fail nor make errors. I suggest Anon, etc. consult The Chief. If you don't hear from Him, then you are blind guides and we are not to follow you, but Him.

I guess we all reach a certain point in our prayer in which we say, and fully mean, just this:

"Thy Will Be Done."

PS- I've prayed for Wisdom, Strength and Faith (all three of which I have) but I have made myself too 'deep' as you have said, and in effect cut myself off. I have to reintegrate myself, as it were, for as it is said "We must not forsake the gathering together." Needless to say, I am surprised at how deep some of the folks in my local church family are. Sometimes its just a matter of asking.

I just want to checkin and say that Bob has, once again, put in words concepts I can relate to, that heretofore I've not articulated. I was aware of a capacity to sense another person's limitations and use that awareness as a base for further interaction. Bob's description brings this concept from a vague awareness into articulated consciousness.

** “ This post was actually inspired by a couple of comments made by Frithjof Schuon in reference to the painful struggles of his youth. For a time he was employed in a meaningless occupation that had nothing to do with his true vocation, which he had yet to discover. In dealing with a typical coworker, he had the sense that the coworker was "hemmed in by all the objects and mental images that surround him. I feel that these people adhere flatly to their mental images with all their soul, without any freedom of movement and without any possibility of taking up an objective attitude towards them." “ **

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Freedom Comes With Empathy:

Even at most fundamental levels of Nature, our physical bodies are electromagnetically charged for repulsion, attraction, alignment, and absorption. That is, as manifested at the level of personal interaction, we are charged for empathy. To the extent we sense, feel, or intuit our interconnection, we are empaths.

Were we without empathy, we would be unlikely against adversity to commit to replicate or nourish offspring. In the recording or remembering of the effects of our interconnection, we come to associate patterns that correlate with how we physically direct or are synchronized or conditioned to direct feelings of empathy.

Often, we refer to that Something as “God.” Intuition of “God” accompanies us as we come together, which we may recognize in commonality as an Agency for bonding, in respect of which we can reason, empathetically, together. For that purpose, proving God is unimportant. But, respecting Something-Beyond-Proof that is common to us is vital to all the purposes we cherish and share. To deny It is to act out, in wilful idiocy.

What About Bob?

Who spirals down the celestial firepole on wings of slack, seizes the wheel of the cosmic bus, and embarks upin a bewilderness adventure of higher nondoodling? Who, haloed be his gnome, loiters on the threshold of the transdimensional doorway, looking for handouts from Petey? Who, with his doppelgägster and testy snideprick, Cousin Dupree, wields the pliers and blowtorch of fine insultainment for the ridicure of assouls? Who is the gentleman loaffeur who yoinks the sword from the stoned philosopher and shoves it in the breadbasket of metaphysical ignorance and tenure? Whose New Testavus for the Restavus blows the locked doors of the empyrean off their rusty old hinges and sheds a beam of intense darkness on the world enigma? Who is the Biggest Fakir of the Vertical Church of God Knows What, channeling the roaring torrent of 〇 into the feeble stream of cyberspace? Who is the masked pandit who lobs the first water balloon out the motel window at the annual Raccoon convention? Who is your nonlocal partner in disorganized crimethink? Shut your mouth! But I'm talkin' about bʘb! Then we can dig it!

Goround ZerO:

The Cosmic Area Rug:

The empty center is Beyond-Being. The circles are dimensions of Being. Your life is a path for the Spirit to pass from periphery to center. Thoughts and choices -- truth and virtue -- are the paving stones.

Only Error is Transmitted:

Buck Mulligan, Official Mascot

Official Sponsor of the Kosmic Kit Scouts, Laniakea Supercluster Chapter:

"No Kit Left Below"

Fuck You: War

Late last night, in search of light, I watched a ball of fire streak across the midnight sky. I watched it glow, then grow, then shrink, then sink into the silhouette of morning. As I watched it die, I said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a lot in common with that light.’ That’s right. I’m alive with the fire of my life, which streaks across my span of time and is seen by those who lift their eyes in search of light to help them though the long, dark night. --Nilsson

We see that yesterday is our birthday, today is our life, and tomorrow we are gone. So we have just one day to learn all we need to know, and that day is today. --Petey